Snake bites girl, mother inside Dharavi home

Mumbai: Due to incessant rain, a Russell Viper snake entered a house located in the Dharavi slum Monday and bit a teenage girl. On hearing the girl’s cries, her mother managed to catch the venomous snake but got bitten, too, in the process.  The mother and daughter are out of danger and recuperating at the hospital.

The patients, identified as Tehseen Khan (18) and her mother Sultana Salim Khan (42), were having brunch when the reptile entered the house and bit Tehseen. Hearing Tehseen’s cries, Sultana held the snake and got it along with her to the Sion Hospital. However, before she could catch the snake in a safe manner the snake had already bitten her too.

Talking to The Asian Age, Sultana’s husband Salim said, “Due to the downpour, the snake must have entered our house. I got the news when I was at work and so, rushed to the hospital. The government should take some precautionary measures so that such incidents are not repeated.”

The dean of Sion Hospital, Dr Praveen Ingale, said, “Both patients are stable and out of danger; we gave them two to three vials of injections of anti-venom, and they are recuperating at hospital.”

Dr Ingale said that since the woman brought the snake to the hospital, it helped them identify the venom type and accordingly administer immediate medical treatment.